SECRETS OF DAIRY

Nobody likes secrets, especially when it comes to your health.

But here’s the thing, the dairy industry loves secrets. By keeping you from seeing the realities of how they treat and raise cows allows them to maximize their profits. By hiding behind marketing slogans they can continue tricking you into false promises while they prop up their margins, cut corners and fail to pay the true costs for their practices.

The good news is, truth trumps secrets every time. That's why we're helping bring attention to the recent findings of investigations conducted by the Animal Rescue Mission. Because of footage like this, Publix has already suspended receiving raw milk from Larson Dairy. You can read more about our recent coverage in the NY Times, Huffington Post, Sun Sentinel, Oxygen, and Miami Herald.

Dairy is not good for you

Cow milk is not meant for humans so when you consume milk and milk products, it can be detrimental to your health. According to Dr. Mark Hyman, the New York Times ten-time best selling author and head of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, drinking milk may not be best for healthy bones, may raise your risk for cancer, and, after age five, your body fails to produces the enzyme needed to appropriately break down milk. Healthier and more humane alternatives are plant-based milks like almond, cashew, and soy milk. You should also know that:

Cholesterol and saturated fat are present in your dairy products. High levels can lead to diabetes, heart disease, stroke and obesity.

Cows are pumped with antibiotics which make their way into milk products. This is leading to stronger bacteria that have become resistant to certain antibiotic treatment.

Dairy is not good for the animal's health

In order to produce milk for you to drink, female cows are forcibly impregnated and their babies are taken away from them just hours after birth. Mother cows cry out for their babies, sometimes for weeks after they are taken away. The mother cows are then milked three times per day, for months until their milk production slows and they are forcibly impregnated again. This cycle repeats over and over until their bodies are literally spent and they are sent to slaughter, usually around four years of age. The normal lifespan of a cow is 20 years.

Dairy cows endure painful infections due to forced high-volume milk production. These gentle animals are poked, prodded, and kicked multiple times per day, every single day, to get them to and from the milking areas. You should also know that:

Female calves born to dairy cows become dairy cows themselves. Male calves are virtually worthless in the dairy industry. Male calves are often confined in pens so small they cannot even turn around, until they are slaughtered for veal or pet food.

Most dairy cows are confined in crowded conditions day and night, and are moved only to be milked.

Dairy cows are confined to small stalls all day and only leave to be milked two or three times per day.

As soon as milk production drops in female dairy cows, they are slaughtered. This often only takes 4-5 years. Cows naturally can live up to 20 years.

Dairy is not good for our planet

Did you know that livestock and their byproducts account for over 50% of all the worldwide greenhouse gas emissions? That 56% of all water in the U.S. is consumed by animal agriculture? If you care about climate change and recognize it as a clear and present danger to your way of life, the best action you can take is adopting a dairy-free, plant-based diet. You should also know that:

The crops used to fuel dairy production could more beneficially used to prevent famine.

We are the only species that drink milk from a species other than ourselves.